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CHRI Greetings!

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Christmas Greetings

CHRI Post of the Day

The Governor of Maharashtra after consulting legal experts has decided to withdraw the notification exempting the ACB from the RTI Act. News report available here. This order had been issued when no elected government was in power. RTI activists had protested against this notification being clandestinely issued by the GAD on September 6. (Available here) The principle line of argument of the activists in protest was that the bureau investigates cases of graft and is not tasked with matters concerning security. The move has been welcomed by activists.

CHRI Posts of The Week

Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative along with National Law University, Delhi organised the National Conference – “Assessing Compliance of Police and Prison Authorities with the Transparency Regime” during 20th – 21st September, 2014. Records creation under the criminal justice system from the micro to the macro level was discussed. The compliance with proactive disclosure obligations in police and prison departments was assessed. In light of the findings, a template for voluntary disclosure of information at a Police Station was shared and commented upon. Participants also shared their own experience of RTI based interventions in police departments. CHRI presented their preliminary findings on the basis of a study of the status of compliance in police departments of creating a public database. Use of technology in documenting the processes of the criminal justice system as well as the Open Government Data platform was deliberated upon. The challenges and opportunities of the sub-culture in the Law Enforcement Agencies were addressed. The conference saw a 20 point action plan emerge from the contributions from participants.

Interactive Map of Access to Information

September 28 was international Right to Know Day. To commemorate this occassion, CHRI has produced an interactive map that allows one to explore the status of access to information in each of the countries of the Commonwealth. To view this map click here

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State Security Commissions:Bringing Little to the Table

CHRI 2013 REPORT to CHOGM

CHRI’s 2013 report to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), The Missing Link: A Commonwealth Commissioner for Human Rights, finds that the Commonwealth’s existing mechanisms to hold Members States to account over their human rights record are inadequate. The report calls for the Commonwealth to establish a Commissioner for Human Rights. Now more than ever before there is value in the appointment of a Commonwealth Commissioner for Human Rights, who will rebuild the confidence of its people and ensure a renewed, relevant and sustainable Commonwealth.

'Systemic reforms is the key to better policing'This new video by CHRI narrates the story of police reforms in India, describing how colonial-era laws continue to influence the functioning of the police as a force and not a service meant for the public. This video explains in about four minutes the Supreme Court directives which provide pathways for meaningful reform, thus emphasising the point: "Systemic Reforms is the Key to Better Policing".